Chapter 348: translated
I Killed the Demon King. It was a Mistake.
Chapter 348
Denver and Marbas headed toward a small castle built on a hill. Screams were leaking from the dark forest surrounding the small castle.
Aaaah!
"Truly a delicate castle. Don't you think?"
"Yes. It is, Your Majesty."
Denver walked slowly, as if taking a stroll, and stood in front of the castle. On both sides were devils who had been subdued and were kneeling, and at the very front was Andras.
Andras' gaze and posture were not respectful. His eyes were filled with murderous intent, and it seemed like a shout would burst from his trembling mouth at any moment.
But Andras knelt before Denver's feet and kissed his toes.
"...I am in the presence of the king."
His voice was mixed with humiliation and anger. Denver liked Andras' attitude of suppressing his humiliation and anger with reason and survival instinct.
"Greed paralyzes a person's reason and makes them make foolish decisions."
Denver flicked his hand.
Then, behind him appeared Bassago, walking with both arms bound in iron chains, his eyes gouged out and bleeding.
Andras' body trembled. He had somewhat guessed since Denver's direct appearance to Andras after attacking Andras' loyal servants in the middle of the night.
In the end, Bassago's plan had gone awry before it could be realized.
"Do you know what your crime is?"
What should I do? The Denver he had observed so far was cold but unexpectedly forgiving. But treason is a different story.
Andras glanced at his own shadow. Would it be right to ambush and flee even now? After 5 seconds that felt like 5 years, Andras finally opened his mouth.
"It is that I tried to betray Your Majesty."
The conclusion Andras reached was acknowledgment rather than escape. If asked what is precious to Andras, it is this city of Sodom.
If he fled, there might be a possibility of survival somehow, but Sodom would be swept away without a single stone left in Denver's hands. Andras could not watch Sodom turn to dust, even if it meant his own death.
"Good."
Bassago knelt before Andras.
"Ah..."
Could Bassago have become this small?
Where on earth had gone the tiger-like figure who had boasted before Andras about opening a new era of Niflheim?
"It is also the duty of a king to teach foolish subjects and guide them to the right path. Among those duties, forgiveness must certainly exist."
Denver placed his hand on Bassago's head. Then Bassago's diminished horns grew back.
Not all seven grew, but only five.
"I will forgive you. But there is a condition."
Andras bowed his head so low it touched the ground.
"Please speak."
"Offer me Homigraph and Sapientia."
"Yes. I will do so."
Andras accepted without even thinking about it. If he had been told to offer the world instead of Homigraph and Sapientia, he would have said he would do it.
Because that is the only answer a sinner can give.
***
Atan saw himself featured on the front page of the evening newspaper. The Emperor and Atan were shaking hands with each other. Atan had a somewhat displeased expression, while Trika was smiling brightly.
[Emperor Trika Goldmile Reestablishes Relations with mer people.]
[Emperor Expresses Deep Regret for Being Unable to Protect mer people's Homeland.]
[Official Apology to Atan, King of the mer people.]
"...You really did get an apology from the Emperor."
"I told you. That I would definitely bring back an apology."
Caesar looked at the mer people reading newspapers by the Eileen River.
"It's true. The Emperor apologized."
"I heard he actually bowed his head to Lord Atan..."
"So what happens now?"
Click! Click!
Reporters pressed their camera shutters at the mer people sitting on the pier by the Eileen River reading newspapers. Perhaps tomorrow the papers would be filled with headlines like 'mer people, Becoming Socialized!' or 'Cultured mer people Reading Newspapers'?
"I kept my promise, Atan."
While Atan found Caesar's triumphant attitude annoying, he couldn't help but acknowledge the guy's remarkable influence.
To completely overturn the relationship between humans and mer people that had only festered deeply for almost 40 years in one fell swoop.
Of course, this doesn't mean that relationships between mer people and humans would immediately become warm and friendly. After all, they still needed to reclaim the Coral Archipelago and erase Niflheim from the Kingdom of Dior.
"Fine. As I said this morning, I'll provide warriors along the Eileen River area."
"Great. Then let me ask for one favor."
Caesar pointed to the ship and said:
"No matter what, please make sure to protect the magic stones loaded on that ship."
"Where are those magic stones going?"
"They're going to Sapientia. They were commissioned by Arch Duke, so they must be protected at all costs."
Originally, they were going to go by train, but with the Pruna border collapsed now, train restoration was all but impossible. There was absolutely no way to make it in time by carriage or other means, so the ship was the only answer.
Atan nodded slightly.
"I can do that much."
"Thank you. And one more thing."
Caesar pointed to the sea dragon.
"Can you send me to Homigraph quickly? I think I've been away from home for too long."
***
Aurora slashed a giant rat that had hidden in the sewer.
"Ugh!"
The rat's blood was not red but purple.
"You inferior humans...!"
When the rat tried to slash Aurora with its sharp claws, Aurora deflected the claws with her shield. And then...
Thud!
Gloria, who had rushed from behind, stabbed the rat's heart. The Blood moon embedded in the heart emitted light and exploded.
Baaang!
The rat was torn to pieces beyond recognition.
Gloria gasped for breath, leaning on her great sword. She wanted to sit down and rest right away, but feared she wouldn't be able to get up if she did.
Aurora handed a water bottle to the exhausted Gloria.
"Well done, Lady Gloria."
Aurora removed her helmet to look at Gloria drinking water. Gloria's gaze appeared cold, beyond mere indifference.
Gloria returned the canteen to Aurora.
"Thank you. Did you happen to find anything?"
Aurora showed a blood-stained bandage and said.
"A large amount of bloody bandages was found in this one's bag."
"Again?"
"Yes. This might be why devils have been attacking hospitals recently."
"Why are they targeting bloody bandages?"
"Who knows. Let's ask when we capture a devil."
Gloria said, drawing her great sword.
"Is there any response from the devil's call?"
"No. More importantly, why don't you rest a bit now, Lady Gloria?"
"No. I'm fine."
Gloria looked at the devil's call hanging around her neck. It was a modified version of the one Caesar wore, with the devil detection range reduced from 10km to 1km, but it could pinpoint devils' locations more precisely.
Gloria concentrated all her nerves trying to feel the vibration of the devil's call, but it did not respond.
"It seems there are no devils within 1km. Let's search a bit more."
"Gloria. You've been hunting devils for four days now, barely sleeping. It's time you got some rest."
"I'm fine. I can move."
Gloria walked through the sewer. Aurora blocked her path.
"Lady Gloria. Let's talk."
"We can talk while walking."
"Stop for a moment."
Aurora looked into Gloria's eyes.
Aurora clearly remembered Gloria's eyes when she used to follow Caesar around. Back then, Gloria never lost her smile even during difficult times and her eyes sparkled, but now she had lost that light.
"Lady Gloria, you know you've been acting strange lately, don't you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Since Master Caesar went missing, you've changed a lot. You've lost your composure and it seems like you can't sleep."
"Are you suggesting that my master has passed away?"
"Of course not! Absolutely not."
"Master isn't dead. He even returned alive after being missing for over a month in the demon realm."
"I know that from what I've heard. You would know that best, Lady Gloria. But why are you pushing yourself so hard?"
Gloria looked at her hands. They were trembling, lacking the strength to grip the great sword.
"...I must protect Homigraph."
"Pardon?"
"I must protect Homigraph until Master returns. Homigraph is Master's city. How disappointed would he be in me if Homigraph had fallen into devils' hands when he returns."
"Homigraph will never fall. And even if by some chance Homigraph were to collapse, it would never be Lady Gloria's fault. I'm sure Master Caesar would think the same."
"I know. If it were the Master, he would surely say kindly that it wasn't my fault. But..."
Gloria looked at her reflection in the sewer water.
"Because of me, Master gave up all the honor and fame he had built up until now. And he fed me precious elixirs and taught me. Why would he bestow such grace upon me? It must be to protect what Master cherishes. So I cannot disappoint Master."
"Lady Gloria..."
At that moment, Gloria and Aurora's devil calls vibrated.
Gloria held the devil call in different directions.
"Where did a devil suddenly appear from?"
"No. This is a request for support."
Among the additional features of the devil's call was the ability to request support from people with devil calls within a 10km radius when encountering a devil they couldn't handle. It's amazing how Noah came up with such an innovative feature.
"It's coming from above."
Aurora and Gloria climbed up the sewer ladder.
They saw citizens fleeing and soldiers with guns and swords crossing paths.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
This bell sound meant that a large-scale enemy had appeared in Homigraph.
Aurora and Gloria headed to the outskirts of Homigraph with the soldiers. Gloria and Aurora, who had climbed the outer watchtower, tilted their heads in confusion.
They thought there would be many devils, but there was only one.
However, its appearance was very unique. It was an insect-like devil with four heads and four limbs each. Although its appearance was bizarre, it seemed a bit strange to ring the bell for just one devil.
"What's going on?"
"...Look over there."
The soldier pointed with a trembling hand at the watchtowers placed at the first line of defense. There wasn't a single person standing on the watchtowers. All of them had their necks twisted or limbs contorted, groaning in pain.
"Let me introduce myself again. I am a noble, Andras."
Crack!
Andras twisted his broken neck back to its original position.
"The reason I have come to find you is to make you a proposal."
"Shut up, devil!"
One brave knight came forward, shouting.
"Don't wag your cunning tongue!"
Andras' four faces each showed a different expression.
One looked at the article with interest, another spat out curses as if annoyed, another was expressionless, and the last yawned as if bored.
Crack!
Andras turned his neck toward the face that was showing an interested expression.
"Who are you?"
"I am Colton!"
At the mention of Colton, there was a stir among the knights.
"Colton? Are you referring to Colton the Talon?"
"That's right. That unique reverse-grip sword. It must be Colton."
Gloria quietly asked Pio.
"Who is Colton the Talon?"
"During the Demon Realm War, he was a knight famous for being incredibly fast and agile. He was a personal knight to Count Springfield, and rumors say he mastered all the footwork techniques of the Springfield family."
"How did someone like that end up here?"
"After the Demon Realm War, his price became too high, so the Count of Springfield had no choice but to dismiss him."
"Isn't it common in such cases for Count Springfield to adopt him into the family?"
"All of Count Springfield's daughters were already married, and when they tried to arrange a marriage with a niece, Lord Colton refused. Well, no further reasons have been revealed beyond that."
Colton held his reverse-grip sword in his right hand.
"I will cut off your head to appease the vengeful spirits of the dead knights and wizards."
As the creature extended its two hands, Colton immediately responded.
Although the distance was considerable, he thought it would be entirely possible to strike the creature's neck before it could use its bizarre abilities by using the Springfield family's unique rapid charge technique, 'Flash Thunder.'
Thud!
As Colton's right leg stretched out, the undergrowth lay flat like a neatly combed parting.
'Flash Thunder' was a technique named for arriving in front of the opponent as soon as lightning strikes, and its instantaneous charging power was said to rival Mitchell's 'Transformation Wheel.'
Of course, given the considerable distance, it was impossible to reach Andras' front in a single move. Colton's left leg pushed against the ground.
Thud!
When he used Flash Thunder for the second time, he became twice as fast as the first time.
He accelerated to a speed almost invisible to ordinary eyes, but Colton had no intention of stopping there. The enemy was a devil with five horns. He couldn't afford to be careless.
Colton summoned his last bit of strength and placed his right foot on the ground. If he stacked Flash Thunder three times, Andras would surely not even realize his neck had been cut.
At the moment Colton placed his right foot on the ground. Andras bent his knee backward.
Crack!
Then Colton's right knee bent backward.